The present invention is related generally to a cutting system for cutting sheet material and, more particularly, to a guided cutting system for cutting predetermined shapes out of sheet material, such as photographs and mat material, for use in photograph scrapbooking applications.
In order to provide an attractive presentation of photos in a scrapbook, the photos are often cut or cropped, cutting away a peripheral area of the photo and leaving a central main subject portion of the photo. Cropping of photos provides an attractive border area for the photo wherein the photo may be cropped in a circular, oval or wavy peripheral edge, and additionally may be provided with a mat which underlies the photo and extends beyond the edges thereof for enhancing the framing of the picture on a scrapbook page. Typically, the mat is made such that it mirrors and extends beyond the peripheral edge of the cropped photo in order to provide a uniform edge border around the photo.
Various devices have been proposed to facilitate the cropping operation including special scissors having wavy or deckled edges, and guided cutters such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 701,828 to Arnold which incorporates a guide plate for guiding an arm movably supported on the plate to direct a cutting blade in a desired pattern for cutting a mat. Other known guided cutting devices for cutting circles or ovals in a sheet of material include those incorporating a so called "Scottish yoke" mechanism which utilizes a base member supporting a pivoted arm and including two transversely oriented axes for guiding the arm in a controlled elliptical path. Alternatively, the arm may be held in a central location of intersection between the two paths whereby the arm may be pivoted in a circular movement. Typical examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,748 to Logan et al. and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,631 to Houston.
While the known devices for cutting ovals and circles provide the desired results of accurately following a desired shape, such devices are typically complex in that they require assembly of several parts and also are generally not well adapted to convenient storage and transportation in that they incorporate an elongated arm connected to and extending from a base, such that they are not adapted to compact storage, a desirable attribute for equipment used by those involved in scrapbooking.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus which facilitates cutting of ovals, circles and other shapes in sheet material and which requires a minimum of parts with accompanying reduced cost. In addition, there is a need for such an apparatus wherein a cutter is provided having means for protecting a user from contact with a cutting portion of the cutter when it is not in use.